(Eryngo)
Grown for its roots which are both edible and medicinal. Fleshy roots, dug in autumn and boiled and roasted, taste like chestnuts. In the 16th and 17th centuries the candied roots, called “kissing comforts,” were considered aphrodisiac, and were given, with all due discretion, to older people suffering from “loss of vital force” and shortness of breath. Was prescribed for chronic nervousness and kidney and bladder disease.